Damian Lillard trade request: The best offers Nets and Heat can make to land star
Damian Lillard has requested a trade with his two preferred destinations reportedly being the Nets and Heat. What kind of offers can they make?
According to Shams Charania and others, Damian Lillard has requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers.
According to Chris Haynes, his two preferred destinations are the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets.
The Heat could offer Kyle Lowry (for salary matching), Caleb Martin, Nikola Jovic/Hayword Highsmith. The Trail Blazers could push for Tyler Herro but with the fact that Lillard prefers the Heat over the Nets, it might not be likely.
The Heat would also have to offer first-round picks to get the deal done. They are able to offer first-round picks beginning in 2027 due to the protections over the 2025 first-rounder traded to the Thunder.
The Nets can offer a host of expiring contracts to get a deal done. They have tons of picks in the later years but they are unable to trade some of their earlier picks due to that they have already traded most of their own first-round picks to the Rockets.
Damian Lillard trade: Is the Nets or Heat offer better for the Trailblazers?
The better offer is from the Miami Heat. If the Trail Blazers are able to get extra assets for the Heat via them shopping Tyler Herro to other teams, this would be the best offer the team can get.
Lillard is quite possibly the best franchise player in the history of Portland basketball and the team will want to do right by him most likely.
With that in mind, the Heat have the best offer. Still, the Nets and even the Clippers or 76ers will surely make offers for the star guard.